Key Objectives:
- Describe methods currently used by public health departments for outbreak alerts and management.
- Identify strengths and limitations of implementing different approaches.
- Compile best practices for outbreak alerts and management.
Brief Summary:
A rapid and effective response to an outbreak is critical in eliminating the spread of disease and saving lives. Health departments face practical challenges in detecting and managing an outbreak. At this panel presentation and discussion, epidemiologists from local and state health departments will provide an overview of the practical methods they used to alert, manage and report a variety of outbreaks, from foodborne outbreaks to STD outbreaks all within their Maven outbreak software. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss how they may have approached decisions in implementing the Maven outbreak alert and management system, including but not limited to: How are controls established and used in Maven for hypothesis testing? How are outbreak alerts used to help identify potential outbreaks? How Maven surveys are implemented during an outbreak? Through discussion, participants will learn about the strengths and limitations of current outbreak methodologies. Attendees might identify colleagues with sharable resources (e.g. outbreak modeling, outbreak alerting parameters, etc…) that could be useful for enhancing outbreak alert and management processes in their own jurisdiction.